Sunday, December 18, 2011

12-18…SUNDAY GRAVY…Pasta meal number 145 since May 1.

The keys to any successful pasta diner.

Today not only felt like a Sunday, it smelled like one. At least did once I started the gravy for tonight’s dinner. As you hopefully know by now, Sunday gravy is a thick, rich sauce usually with a meat base: meatballs, beef, chicken, pork, or a variation of any of them. Today’s gravy is based on Italian sausage and pork neck bones. It has been on the stove since mid-afternoon, filling the house with the most delightful Sunday fragrance.

Brown the meat, remove, and set aside. Deglaze the pot with red wine and add the results to the meat.

In olive oil cook the garlic and onion until soft, then add the tomatoes, salt, and spices and bring to low boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the meat to the sauce, cover, and simmer for one to two hours, stirring occasionally. If you want the sauce to be thicker remove the lid completely or partially.

When the pasta is ready, remove the meat and add the sauce to the pasta, serving the meat separately.

COMMENTS:

If there is any one dish that epitomizes my entire life this is it. Oh, there are other great pasta dishes, some perhaps even better than this, but nothing has been as constant throughout my entire life as the Sunday pasta meal, and it never fails to satisfy me beyond description.